Brampton Scores Second Straight 4-2 Win

BRAMPTON, ON- Things looked good in the first eight minutes of Sunday afternoon's game for the Wheeling Nailers, but the end result took a drastic turn in the opposite direction. The Brampton Beast scored twice on the power play and once 4-on-4, as they scored four unanswered goals, erasing the deficit, and going on to the 4-2 victory at Powerade Centre. Derek Army and Brett Stern had the markers for Wheeling.

The first period featured a ton of scoring, as the Nailers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, before Brampton pulled even with two late tallies. The first marker came on the power play. Kevin Schulze set up Milos Bubela, who drove a shot on goal from the top of the left circle. Zachary Fucale made the save, but Derek Army pounded away at the rebound, trickling it in over the goal line. 76 seconds later, the lead increased. Brett Stern skated down the left side of the ice, gained the offensive blueline, and wired a slap shot into the bottom-right corner of the cage. With 4:55 left in the stanza, the Beast began to come back. David Pacan jammed in the rebound of David Vallorani's right circle shot on a 5-on-3 power play to cut their deficit to one. Then, in the last minute, Vallorani found the back of the net himself, taking a pass from Scott Jacklin, and whipping a backhand shot into the left side of the net.

The snowball continued to roll in the wrong direction for Wheeling in period two. Brampton took its first lead of the afternoon at the 12:25 mark of the frame with a 4-on-4 goal. Mike Vernace let a wrist shot go from the middle of the blueline, which was tipped in by Luke Pither. 2:12 later, the Beast got a power play, and converted for the second time. Brandon Marino swept the puck off of the right wall to Vallorani, who waltzed into the right side of the slot, before roofing a shot into the top-right corner of the twine.

Brampton was content to defend its lead in the third period, as it was outshot, 17-6. Unfortunately, the Nailers came up empty, falling 4-2.

Zachary Fucale earned his second win of the weekend in goal for the host Beast, stopping 36 of the 38 shots he faced. Sean Maguire took the defeat in his season debut for Wheeling, coming up with 28 saves on 32 shots.

The Nailers will return home on Wednesday night to face the Orlando Solar Bears at 7:05, and McDonald's presents $6 kids tickets. Wheeling will also be on home ice Friday at 7:35 against the Fort Wayne Komets. The Highlands presents Flat Screen Friday, and that evening will also be a Frosty Friday. Later this month, fans will be able to get $10 tickets for Throwback Night on New Year's Eve, when the Nailers wear Thunderbirds jerseys in their game against the Elmira Jackals. Holiday packs are currently available, and may be purchased through the Nailers office only. The 12 Days of Christmas are taking place now. Keep tabs on the team's social media networks to learn about that day's special. To purchase tickets, or to get more information about season tickets, mini plans, group tickets, packages, and more, call (304) 234-GOAL.